HRD and Harrogate 2007 ñ CIPD announces significant changes

The two largest events organised by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) are both set to undergo changes in 2007, it was announced today.

HRD 2007, the largest event for learning and development professionals in Europe, is moving to a new home at ExCeL London.

The CIPDís Annual Conference and Exhibition, the largest management conference in Europe and the key date in the calendar for people management professionals, will move from its traditional October slot to a new September slot from 2007. The Annual Conference and Exhibition will continue to take place in Harrogate.

It has already been announced that the Harrogate conference will move to a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday pattern in October 2006, and this new pattern will continue from 2007 in the new September slot. The new dates for the Annual Conference and Exhibition in Harrogate are 24-26 October 2006 and 18-20 September 2007.

Fiona Fennell, CIPD Head of Conferences and Exhibitions, said:

ìOur conferences and exhibitions are some of the most popular events in the world for people management and development professionals, but weíre always looking for ways to make them better.

ìFrom 2007 HRD will benefit from ExCeLís state of the art facilities, allowing us to make the conference and exhibition work together better for the thousands of learning and development professionals who join us each year.

ìThe new dates for the Harrogate conference from 2007 onwards are designed to be more family friendly, moving us away from the frequent clash with the school half-term break. The new Tuesday to Thursday slot is also intended to make the event work better for visitors, avoiding a Friday evening journey home.î

In 2008 the CIPD will also be taking its turn to host the World Federation of People Management Associationís World Congress. This event will take place alongside HRD 2008, making use of ExCeL Londonís world class facilities to host this truly global event for people management and development professionals.